Wheel-clamp.



W. FRENIER. WHEEL CLAMP. APPLICATION FILED FEB- 1 7| 1915- PatentedSept. 25, 1917.

wamvw "entrain smarts rarstar anion WILLIAM FRENIER, OF CORLISS, WISCONSIN.

WHEEL-CLAMP.

1 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, VVILLIAM Fnnnmn, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Corliss, in the county of Racine and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful The invention further relates to wheel clamps used in combination with a lifting means.

The invention is designed more particularly to provide an apparatus for facilitating the replacement of bearing members in the journal boxes of railway cars with the least time and danger to the operator.

Under present conditions of railroading when a bearing member, or brass as they are called, has to be replaced in a car-wheel bearing, the car is generally side tracked and left there to be repaired. maybe some time before the repair crew' reach the car and during the meantime the car may have been broken into. for its object toprovide a device whereby the bearing members or brasses may bereplaced in a few minutes while the cars are on the right of way. Under the oldmethod of replacing a brass the wheel and axle were held against movement by blocking and then the bearing was relieved of the weight of the car by blocking and jacking between the ground and the car body. This was the general method pursued before acar was in condition to have the bearing replaced. Such a methodnot only took time but subjected the workmen to continual danger as they had to work beneath the carwhile blocking it up and there was constant danger of the blocking giving way while they were replacing the bearing.

In order to obviate these difficulties I have devised a simple form of wheel clamp which practically does away with blocking. This clamp has a bearing portion and a wheel engaging portion adjustable with respect to the bearing portion so that the bearing poraxle of the car for receiving a lifting means,

of different types.

My invention 1 has Specification of Letters Patent. Patgntgd $ep1g 25, 1191?,

Application filed February 17, 1916. Serial No. 78,804.

and the wheel engaging portion be positioned to engage the flange or ball ofwheels When so positioned the lifting means, such as a jack, is placed upon the bearing portion and its head brought up into position beneath the journal box or truck frame and the weight of the car acting downwardly through the jack bears upon the bearing portion and thus exerts a force upon the clamp to maintain the wheel against movement on the rail and more particularly from raising from the track when the body of the car is raised. When the bearing has been relieved of the weight of the car it may be readily replaced.

l Vhilemy clamping device has particular application in railroad work it is also well adapted for use in removing and replacing springs on automobiles, as the wheel or wheels of the vehicle may be secured against movement and the jacks or other lifting means then manipulated to lift the body of the vehicle from the springs and wheels after which the springs may be readily re moved, repaired and replaced.

The invention is further designed to provide a wheel clamp which is disposed at the side of the railway car or other wheeled vehicle whereby it is not necessary to go beneath the carin using the device and the liability for accident thus avoided.

The invention is further designed to pro vide a new and. improved form of wheel clamp which when used with a lifting device provides an efficient means for lifting a vehicle body or member carried by the vehicle from its wheels and axle or its frame.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line -li of Fig. 8;

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the bottom of the device; a

Fig. 6 is a section taken onthe line 66 of Fig. 4:.

supporting member 7 and a clamping means connected thereto which under a force acting upon the base member secures the wheel'- against movement. e

The base member 7 consists of a flat slab or platform preferably of wrought metal, having gripping ribs 7 and a marginal upstanding rib around its edge on the top thereof and reinforcing ribs 8 on the bottom thereof which form, a plurality of compart: ments or recesses 9, sharpened projections 10 on the edge of said ribs for gripping the surface upon which the member rests, a handle 11 p ivotally mounted Wlthllltllt} plate adjacent one end thereof and adapted to be moved into a recess 12 in the plate so as to preserve the continuity of the upper surface of the plate, and upright members or standards 13 integral With the plate and disposed adjacent one end thereof. The ribs 8 facili tate the use of the device on sandy or soft ground. The base member 7 provides a sub: stantial bearing area over which the force of the load may be distributed and is of a Width Which enables it to be used between two ties if desired.

The means for securing the xvheel of the car or vehicle againstmovement includes a holding or clamping member 14 mounted intermediate its end on a pin 15 journaled in the uprights 13 and means for securing said member 14 in various positions of adjust? ment. The adjustable connection between the base and the clamping members is very important first because in order to secure the best results the base should be disposed in a substantially horizontal plane substantially paralletwith thecar axle so that the lifting device will be disposed substantially vertical to insure its eflicient action and prevent its;

slipping due to any inclination of the base from a substantially horizontal plane and second because the device should be capable of use on different kinds andconstructions of car wheels. To this endthe clamping member is pivotally connected to the supporting member and 1s capable ofbeing 21d? justed relative thereto. The clamping mem.-

ber 14 is provided with a projectingholding arm or clamping finger 17- which extends outwardly from the, pivot and is adaptedto engage the ball of the car Wheel 18 or therim of a vehicle wheel and said member is also provided with asegmen tal lockportion 19 which extends 1 below the pivot substantially atright angles to said holding arm andfis provided With a plurality of apertures'20.

spaced apart on an arctaken a predeterm ned distance from the p vot po mt of said member and with a plurality of notches; 21 staggered in relation to apertures and spaced apart on the periphery of theseg merit. Thus the device, consists of a two part member'provided with means for secnring said parts indifferent positions of adjustment With respect to each other for the reasons given above.

The means for securing the member 14 in various positions of adjustment comprises a locking pin 22 Which is adapted to be inserted in either pair ofwalined apertures 23 and 24 in the uprights 13. When said pin is inserted through the apertures 23 it is in line with the row of apertures 20 and is passed through one upright, one of theaper" tures 20 and then through the other upright. lVhen said pin isinse'rted through the apertures 24 it is in line with therow of IlQt Qhcp 21 and. is passed through one upright one A of the notches and through the other" upright. hus thepin serves to maintain the member 14 against movement with respect to the up; rights and base in various positions of a d justment. A flexible connection, such asa chain 25, is securedto the pin 22 and to an eyed portion 26 of the base 7.

Means are also provid d for, preventing lateral movement of the member 14 between the uprights 13' comprising"segmental ribs 27 the edges 28 ofwhich slidably engagethe inner sides of, the uprigh s ip It will also benoted, that. the holding finger 17 of the member. laprojects beyond the end of the base 7 so that the base plate. may be placed adjacent the outer side, of the Wheel to besecuredand it illnot be nieces sary to go beneath the car. V

lVith the construction above described the base plate is disposecl'adjacent the side of the Wheel tobeclamped and the member 14; is adjusted ancbmo-vedsoasto bring the finger 17 into 'engagemen'tj with the ball; ofthe Wheel 18. T-henthe Pil 22 is placed in either of the apertures 24- or 23'imojst suitable andthrough that notch2l'ior aperture 20 which is most suitable to secure thleiyvhee l against movement. Thus the Wheel. ISEis disposed between the fielding finger 17: and the rail 30 and ivill be, held agaihst move; ment by means acting downwardly on the Wheel clamp."

The meanslfor lifting th e iveight ofrthe car from thelaxleQ31[may 1be';auy suitable means connected. or unconnected Withthe, Wheel clamp and in the present instanceI have shown a common jfornr, of} lifting j ac lc A comprising a base, 32 a threaded bore for, recei'vinglthe threaded liftingbar 33 p 1 ovided with the,i1 su al movablef heath 35 and a collar 36 providedi with. apertures 37 through which anyfsuita ble barrmay be inserted to turnth-e bar, 3 3 Wll7l1 respected e'nt types of cars extend outwardly at different distances from the wheels. Though I have shown the lifting jack as resting on the plate 7 it will be obvious that it may be movably secured thereto without departing from the scope of this invention. With the present construction, however, the usual lifting ack provided by the railroads may be used.

With the construction above described when it is desired to replace a brass in a car all that is necessary is to place the wheel clamp device in position adjacent the side of the. car wheel and so that its supporting portion is in a substantially horizontal plane. Then the member 1% is brought down into engagement with the ball of the wheel and locked in this position. The lifting means such as the jack A is placed at the desired position upon the support 7 and the lifting bar 33 turned or moved to bring the head 35 up into engagement with a portion of the journal box 3st or the truck frame 37 mounted on the car B and on a further turning of the bar 33 the journal box or truck frame raised with the car B so as to re lieve the wheel 18 and its axle 31 of the weight of the car after which the cover 39 of the journal box is lifted up or removed and the brass 4L0 resting on the upper side of the axle 31 may be replaced without any fear of injury to the operator. As the lift ing means is mounted on the platform or support 7 the force exerted by the weight of the car will act downwardly through the lifting means and upon the support and thus maintain the support and its holding member in fixed position and this force will be transmitted against the ball of the wheel and the wheel thus held to the rail against movement and the axle held in position.

Thus I utilize the force of gravity due to the weight of the car to counteract the upward force on the wheel and axle due to the lifting of the car body therefrom. It will also be noted that as the adjustable connection be tween the parts of the clamp permit of the horizontal disposal of the supporting platform for the jack the force due to the weight of the car is distributed over the platform which is of a suflicient size to give a good bearing area but at the same time is light enough to be easily carried about by one man. Thus by the arrangement of the parts, as described, I dispense with any special means for securing the wheel clamp to a fixed support and provide a clamp which may be leveled by the positioning of its own parts.

With the construction above described the brass may be replaced on a car within the station or out on the right of way and the mechanism is so simple that it may be 0perated by unskilled labor and the old method 65 of blocking is practically done away with.

Furthermore owing to the arrangement of the parts the device may be suiiiciently light as to be carried around by one man and it may be made at a cost which will enable the railroads to provide every train crew with one of them.

In the case of the use of the device in connection with other wheeled vehicles, such as automobiles, the wheel is clamped against movement on its support and the body of the vehicle then lifted up to relieve the springs of its weight after which the springs may be readily repaired, removed, or replaced. The device may also be used to hold the wheels in position to permit the straighten ing of the axles of the wheels.

The invention thus exemplifies a new and improved form of wheel clamp which owing to its adjustability can be used on all types of cars or vehicles for the purposes described.

Theinvcntion is not to be restricted, unless necessary, to the details of construction herein set forth as it is my intention to claim the same as broadly as will be permitted by thestate of the art.

The marginal upstanding rib around the top edge of the base provides a holding means for the jack to prevent its slipping from the base should the base be placed in an inclined position. This allows the jack to engage the ournal box slantingly to push it laterally as well as lift it. This position of the jack is often necessary to release the brass. Furthermore it has been found to be important to locate the locking means below the pivotal point, so that at all times it is accessible and free from obstruction by the car structure. In other words, it inatters not how close the holding finger is placed below the journal box and its retaining straps, the lock will not be obstructed. Another important feature is the staggered arrangement of the locking apertures and notches. ber of fine adjustments in a short length of locking portion and at the same time allows the use of a locking pin of relatively large diameter. A still further important feature of the device is secured by depending the locking portion below the pivot. As thus constructed the jack can oftentimes be placed to engage the depending lock portion and will serve to retain the clamping finger in locked position without the use of the locking pin. This is especially advan- This provides a maximum numtageous should the pin become detached from the base and be lost.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A wheel clamp comprising a platform adapted to support a jack, a wheel holding member having a hooked wheel engaging portion and a segmental notched portion provided with a plurality of apertures pivotally carried by said platform, and a locking pin adapted to engage with any of the notches or apertures in said segmental portion and be secured to said platform to lock said wheel holding member to said platform.

2. A wheel clamp, comprising a supporting member, a wheel holding member pivotally connected thereto, said members being provided with a plurality of sets of pin engaging means arranged in staggered relation to each other, and a locking pin adapted to engage either set of said pin engaging means for adjustably securing said members against movement with respect to each other.

3. A wheel clamp, comprising a supporting member having a relatively flat horizontally disposed platform to removably support a lifting device, a wheel holding member pivotally connected at one edge of said platform, and a locking means for said pivotal member to secure it in adjusted positions and located below the pivotal axis of said member.

4;. A wheel clamp, comprising a platform having a wheel holding member pivoted thereto and provided with a lock portion extending below its pivot and a projecting holding arm extending outwardly from its pivot substantially at right-angles to said lock portion, and a locking means for engaging said lock portion adjacent to said platform to retain said holding arm rigid in respect to said platform.

5. A wheel clamp, comprising a platform having a wheel holding member secured thereto, said platform having formed 011 its underside a plurality of intersecting ribs to provide recesses therebetween, and pro- 1,24o,sse

jections depending downwardly from the edges of saidribs to cooperate with said recesses and ribs in retaining said platform in position.

6. A wheel clamp, comprising a platform having a wheel holding member secured thereto, said platform having formed on its underside a plurality of ribs to provide rejustment adjacent to one edge of said plat form, said platform being constructed to support a lift-jack for horizontal adjustment independent of said wheel holding member, and said wheel holding member comprising a' bifurcated supporting member, a clamping member pivoted in the bifurcation of the supporting member and provided with a clamping finger and notches formed concentric with its pivot, and a locking means for retaining the nose of said clamping finger in its adjusted positions and with the nose located either above or below the pivot of the clamping member, said locking means embodying a pin rigidly and removably supported by both arms of the bifurcated supporting member and adapted to separately engage said notches in the clamping member.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

WILLIAM FRENIER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

. Washington, D. G. r 

